Waterloo

Synopsis

After defeating France and imprisoning Napoleon on Elba, ending two decades of war, Europe is shocked to find Napoleon has escaped and has caused the French Army to defect from the King back to him. The best of the British generals, the Duke of Wellington, beat Napolean's best generals in Spain and Portugal, but now must beat Napoleon himself with an Anglo Allied army.

This historical recreation of the battle of Waterloo and the events leading up to it is suitably grand and epic, but it tells you little about the context, the stakes at hand, the conflicting values, if any, between the players. For all its care and attention to detail, it forgets to tell us why the events at Waterloo were so important. The battle itself takes up nearly half of the film's 135 minute running time, but with its frequent use of wide angle shots and aerial photography, it reduces a fight that cost the lives of tens of thousands of men into a private chess game between Wellington and Bonaparte, and with both men speaking in historical quotes ("Give me…

Duke of Wellington: "Next to a battle lost, the saddest thing is a battle won."

I wish there were more movies like this. Where epic, large scale battles were captured without the help of CGI (granted CGI wasn't around at the time but still), giving an epic sense and scale to popular battles throughout history. Despite some of the historical innacuracies, this movie is perfect to me. In fact it's beautiful. It was this film that sparked my passion to study the Napoleonic Wars, specifically Napoleon's Grand Army, which I think was the best army in French history, and one of the most legendary in all of history. If only Napoleon had attacked an hour earlier, or kept a tighter leash on Marshal Ney, then history would of been a hell of a lot more different.

This looks like it was a major influence of Kubricks's Barry Lyndon. Of course, Kubrick initially had the idea of doing a Napoleon film and this films poor box office ended that dream for Stanley. To be fair, this is a fine film, great performances and outstanding battle scenes.

There was over 16,000 extras used for the war scenes, and not only is it incredibly historically accurate. It is probably one of the best historical war film's ever made. The sheer scale of the battles along with the attention to detail truly showcase how magnificently directed this film is.

The only issues I have are that the French speak very posh English and some of the performances are rather mediocre. If they actually spoke French this would be rated so much higher. The film also tends to drag it's feet at times with long exposition, but it's mostly needed since not many people know the history behind the battle of Waterloo.

Overall this film is a gem to those who are not only history buffs but also enjoy a what seems to be forgotten war film.

Once the battle commences, Waterloo is every bit as epic as it's production was, but the lead-up is marred by an affected writing style and flat characterisation. It's almost as if Bondarchuk was trying his best to make a documentary re-enactment, leaving the film more informative than enrapturing for most of it's run time. The acting is still exceptional despite flawed writing, and Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer turn in excellent performances as a damaged Napoleon and a calculated Duke of Wellington respectively. Surprisingly, Dan O'Herlihy's turn as Field Marshall Ney might be the best performance in the film, as O'Herlihy injects a great deal of intrigue and passion into his portrayal and turns Ney from a supporting character into…

The fact that it was made in 1970 is both a blessing and a curse. There's a lot of tacky montage, the voices often don't match the lips, there's a lot of film grain et cetera. But at the same time, the last hour of the film (the actual battle) is purely authentical, and it's stunning. Worth the watch, especially if you were interrested by Kubrick's "Napoléon" or that you just want some good old fashioned French patriotism, merde!

There was over 16,000 extras used for the war scenes, and not only is it incredibly historically accurate. It is probably one of the best historical war film's ever made. The sheer scale of the battles along with the attention to detail truly showcase how magnificently directed this film is.

The only issues I have are that the French speak very posh English and some of the performances are rather mediocre. If they actually spoke French this would be rated so much higher. The film also tends to drag it's feet at times with long exposition, but it's mostly needed since not many people know the history behind the battle of Waterloo.

Overall this film is a gem to those who are not only history buffs but also enjoy a what seems to be forgotten war film.

Some historical and technical errors aside (which you pretty much have to expect in any film) this is a really strong film. Waterloo keeps a brisk pacing up until the battle itself where it slows down a bit. The characters are established and feel lively, not to the least because of the almost theatrical acting that in my opinion really makes the film special. Other than that it has a for the most part solid plot, maybe it gets a bit repetitive in the second half but the battle in still for the most part impressive. Absolutely worth a watch even for people without a huge interest in the era.

This 1970 Italian-Soviet co-production about the Battle of Waterloo and therefore the so-called les Cent-Jours of Napoleon Bonaparte is an absolute spectacle and also quite a well cast military drama.

Rod Steiger gives a great, if just slightly cartoonish performance as Napoleon Bonaparte and his opposite, the Duke of Wellington, is wonderfully portrayed by Christopher Plummer.

And while I can see that someone less interested in military history and this time period in particular, might be not that into the historical drama of it all, one has to acknowledge the incredible spectacle of the battle scenes that are obviously achieved without the use of CGI, but instead with the use of hundreds of extras, dressed into period-accurate uniforms and drilled for historically accurate battle formations.

In the end, I have to use the tired old phrase - "They don't make films like this anymore!"